Dentifrice preparations typically contain a polishing or abrasive agent in combination with a gel or liquid vehicle and are intended for cleaning the teeth to aid in the prevention of tooth decay or dental caries. The dentifrice will often contain fluoride ions, commonly in the form of stannous fluoride or indium fluoride, which have been shown to be effective anti-caries agents. In recent years there has been increased interest in gel dentifrices, that is dentifrices which are visually substantially clear or translucent. Polishing or abrasive agents such as for example sodium carbonate or various insoluble magnesium salts render the dentifrice opaque and, therefore, are unsatisfactory for use in a gel dentrifice. Various types of silica have been found satisfactory for use as a polishing agent in the gel dentifrices because they have a refractive index which closely corresponds to that of the vehicle. In incorporating fluoride ions into a gel formulation containing silica, care must be exercised to assure the availability of sufficient anions to have the desired anti-caries effect. In addition, it is generally necessary to add the fluoride ion in a separate step from the silica material during manufacturing. U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,307 discloses a dentifrice composition containing an amorphous silica abrasive which has been pretreated with hydrofluoric acid. The composition is described as more compatable with therapeutic cations which are present in the formulation. However, this method of manufacture also requires a separate treatment step.